Japan ranks least content among 30 nations surveyed; India 'happiest'
What's the story
Japan has been named the least contented country in a survey of 30 countries by Ipsos, a France-based research firm.
According to the survey, just 13% of Japanese respondents are satisfied with their quality of life, and only 15% expect a change for the better.
Both numbers are the lowest recorded in the survey, indicating a growing sense of disillusionment in Japan amid rising living costs, demographic strain, and political inertia.
Survey findings
Japan's life satisfaction lags behind developing nations
The Ipsos survey had nearly 24,000 people from Europe, Asia, and North America, including about 2,000 respondents from Japan.
It was found that life satisfaction levels in Japan were even lower than in several developing nations, including Colombia, India, Indonesia, and Peru.
When asked what made them happy, Japanese respondents ranked family and children top, alongside feeling appreciated or loved.
Economic strain
Deepening sense of crisis
Hiromi Murakami, a political science professor at Temple University's Tokyo campus, has observed a growing sense of crisis within Japanese society.
"There are different reasons for different people, of course, but one of the biggest factors I feel is that for so long we have only experienced deflation and now suddenly we have soaring inflation," she told This Week in Asia.
Happiness rankings
India tops happiness chart while Japan lags behind
Of the 30 countries, India was the happiest nation in the survey. A whopping 88% of Indians said they were very or rather happy.
In contrast, just 12% of Japanese respondents said they were very happy, and another 48% were rather happy.
The combined score of 60% put Japan in the 27th position among the surveyed countries, reflecting a 10-point drop from the survey conducted in 2011.